The Weekly Daf #31
Bava Metzia 79-85
Week of 3 - 9 Tishrei 5755 / 8 - 14 September 1994
By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
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This issue is dedicated in memory of
R. Eliezer Lipa ben R. Yechezkel Yitzchak Z''L - Rosh Hashana 5704
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The staff of The Weekly Daf wishes you and your family a
Happy & Healthy New Year
Rav Mendel Weinbach Lev Seltzer
Rabbi Moshe Newman Moshe Yaakov Schwartz
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Getting Him Coming and Going
The Rulings:
Ruling 1
A man engaged to be married wishes to send some jewelry to his future
wife as a gift but is not certain that it will be to her liking. He
makes a deal with the jeweler that if the gift is accepted he will pay
the jewelry's full value. If it is rejected he will pay him only a
smaller sum for the benefit he derived from making a good impression with
his offer of an expensive gift. Should he lose this jewelry through
circumstances beyond his control while he is on the way to his future
bride's home he is responsible for compensation because until the jewelry
is rejected he is considered as if he had purchased it and owes the
purchase price. If this accident happens after the gift has been
rejected and is on the way back to the jeweler the buyer has no
responsibility for compensation because he now has only the statue of a
guardian who is absolved from payment in case of an unavoidable accident.
Ruling 2
A man bought wine which he intended to sell for a profit in a particular
locale. His deal with the seller was that if he succeeded in selling the
wine there he would pay the full value; otherwise he would return it to
the seller. He did not succeed in selling the wine and on the way back it
was lost through an unavoidable accident. Rabbi Nachman ruled that he
must pay for the wine.
The Problem:
The Sage Rava challenged Rabbi Nachman's ruling based on the first ruling
which absolves a man from responsibility for an accident while the item
is on the way back to the owner.
The Solution:
In the case of the wine the returning phase is considered a mere
extension of the responsibility of the buyer while it is being taken to
the locale for sale because he is prepared to sell that wine to any
customer who presents himself until the very moment it reaches the
seller.
Bava Metzia 81a
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Where Torah Teaching Begins
Rabbi Chiya made sure that Torah would not be forgotten by Jews no matter
where they were. If he heard of a town where there was no one to teach
children Torah he would plant flax which he would fashion into nets to trap
deer. The meat of the deer would go to feed poor orphans and their skins
would provide the parchment for writing scrolls for each of the five
Chumashim. He then would go to this teacherless town and teach five
children from the five Chumash scrolls and orally teach six others the six
orders of the Mishnah. He would then instruct each of these pupils to
teach the others what he had been taught and promised to soon return and
check on their progress.
The Maharsha explains that Rabbi Chiya succeeded in his dissemination of
Torah because every single step, from the initial planting of the flax to
the charitable utilization of the meat, was entirely dedicated to serving
Hashem without any selfish motive, and was therefore blessed with success.
Bava Metzia 85b
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Ohr Somayach Institutions is proud to present:
ROSH HASHANAH 5755
Two essays by Ohr Somayach Rabbis:
The Concept of Teshuva, by Rabbi Michoel Schoen
Beginnings..., by Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz
This file is available from the following sources:
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